An appeals court in the Philippines has allowed journalist Maria Ressa to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ressa, the CEO of the Manila-based news website, Rappler, was awarded the prestigious prize alongside Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. They were feted for their work in fighting misinformation and the spread of fake news on social media.
RELATED STORY: Malacanang congratulates Maria Ressa on Nobel Peace Prize award
The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has registered several cases including a cyber-libel conviction against Ressa and her news organisation due to which she is required to ask for special permission from the court every time she travels abroad.
The Court of Appeals granted Ressa’s motion to leave the country on December 8 to attend the award ceremony in Norway’s capital on December 10 and directed Ressa to return to the country by December 13.
READ ON: Maria Ressa posts bail after one night in detention
Ressa said she had just arrived in the Philippine capital following a trip to the United States to attend a month-long series of lectures at Harvard University in Boston.
She had also informed the court that she was planning to visit her ailing 76-year-old mother in Florida during the Thanksgiving holidays. (AW)
